MINNA— Following the killing of security agents and several bloody communal clashes in Nasarawa and other Middle Belt states, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has identified religious intolerance and boundary disputes as the primary cause of insecurity in the zone.

It will be recalled that 56 police officers and their DSS colleagues were killed recently when they attempted to arrest the chief priest and members of the ‘Ombatse Religious Sect’ at Alakyo, Eggonland in Nasarawa State.

Governor Babangida, who spoke at a one day workshop on ‘Intelligence Sensitization and Community Partnership’ for the zone in Minna, argued that “as a result of this religious intolerance, we have many security flashpoint states like Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue and Kogi.”

The governor, however, attributed the inability of security agencies especially the Police, to rise up to the challenges of insecurity to such factors as poor recruitment procedure, low morale associated with poor social welfare policy and lack of adequate operational equipment for officers and men.

He said: “Whereas in more advanced societies, entry into the security services and some profession is by self-selection (out of personal interest and passion for the job), in our case, many people join many profession only to earn meal tickets. That is the reason we have people of questionable character in the security services in the country; People who are feeling unhappy with themselves and their jobs, leading to poor performances.

“That is why so many issues are still unresolved – extra judicial killings, accidental discharges, ‘excursion of suspects’, missing case files, detention without trial, stalled investigations, denied justice due to delayed prosecution, extortion and corruption, among others.

“Similarly, the politicization of the Police is a major hindrance to effective policing and national security in Nigeria. In a real federating system, the need for proper definition of the responsibilities and authority relations of the police is very imperative.” he added.

Earlier, the Assistant Inspector General in charge of Intelligence at Force headquarters, Mr. Solomon Arase explained that the aim of the parley with the theme ‘Enhancing National Security through Intelligence and Community Partnership’ was to create enlightenment for the citizens at the grassroots level and strategic security stakeholders on their roles within the internal security architecture of the country.

In a paper titled ‘Community based Intelligence and Policing for effective security management’, Prof. Mohammed Yahaya Kuta said, “Collaborative partnership between the law enforcement agency and the community enhances strong ability to develop solutions to problems and increase trust in the police”.

“In this emerging era, community policing is extending its tentacles to accommodate more stakeholders that will join hands to combat the challenges of crime reduction”, he said.

“Accordingly, community youths, community leaders, traditional rulers, NGO’s, investors/business leaders, women groups, the media and other government agencies are notable stakeholders in community policing”.
“Partnership with them will bring about supportive and proactive strategies to crime control and eradication in our communities”

He should talk to his people. Not every time h will open his wide mouth and nothing comes out